The Punkt. Digital Detox Challenges

Punkt. is a relatively small, dynamic and independent company, and we like
to maintain close connections with our customers and with individuals and
organisations within the design world. As part of this, we regularly run
'Punkt. Challenges'. These include design challenges that form part of
postgraduate design courses, and digital detox challenges where
self-confessed smartphone addicts are invited to revisit their relationship
with technology.

Ten years ago, smartphones were still very unusual. Now, a life lived
outside the framework of the smartphone is unusual. Ten years ago, most
people had mobile phones, but they would generally only attract our
attention if another human being had decided to call us or send us a text.
Now that most people's lives are so much more automated: the new normal is
to scurry around within a ceaseless onslaught of status updates, push
notifications and a whole lot more.

Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running since 2016. The negative
aspects of smartphones weren't widely discussed at that point, but there has
since been a surge of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a key
element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing
these reports we aim to keep the discussion of people's relationship with
technology prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech addiction and the
importance of high-quality design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.

"This is one smart dumbphone. The underlying premise is actually true: it eliminates distractions and increases focus. More importantly, though, this machine promotes human interaction. Not just telephone conversations, but real human-to-human contact."